Samson had some major issues even with the incredible strength God gave him. Even by today’s low standards, his life was a total mess. When Samson was probably in his early twenties, he slept with a prostitute and ended up falling in love with her. Now this prostitute, otherwise known as Delilah, was a Philistine. Israel and Philistine were something like arch enemies, a lot like the Vikings versus the Packers but with an actual reason for hating each other and tons more bloodshed. In other words, this was not only a big no-no; it was dangerous for all parties involved. It’s not like Samson had a bad upbringing, as most kids do who take this path, he had a loving family who was very church oriented.
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Samson’s choice had all the serious consequences our parents warned us about. Delilah ended up spending her entire time with Samson trying to find his weakness. You see, Samson almost had a price on his head. He had a horrible temper, and was known for killing hundreds if not thousands of Philistines. Judges 16:5 says, “The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, ‘See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.’” It sounds like Samson was pretty much a dead man after Delilah found out his secret. “So he told her everything. ‘No razor has ever been used on my head’, he said, ‘because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.’…Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison.” ~Judges 16: 17, 21. But this was not the last the Philistines heard of from Samson.
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Some many years later Samson was an entertainer of some sorts for the rulers of Philistine who despised him greatly. Samson still had no strength, but he knew there was a God and his faith was stronger in his dying moments than in his entire life. Samson was a very smart man, and at his final performance, Samson told the servant who was guiding him to lead him to the two central pillars of the building they were in so he could lean against them. Judges 16:27 says that the temple was filled with all the rulers of the Philistines, and even on the roof of the building there were about three thousand men and women. In my opinion Samson’s strongest moment was in his desperate prayer to God. “Then Samson prayed to the LORD, ‘O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.’” ~Judges 16:28.
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Samson’s faith in his dying breath can be felt off the pages, and truly inspires me. It sends the message that anything can be done through faith. Most don’t realize that it’s been about twenty years since Samson has had any strength, and now he calls upon a God whom he’s never been truly devoted to. Judges 16:30 is my favorite verse in the entire story of Samson: “Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.’” Not all heroes were warriors of mere strength.
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